Manava Bandhutva Vedike celebrated Savitribai Phule Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the 19th crusader of women’s education, here.
Satish Jarkiholi, MBV founder, spoke on the life and times of the Phule couple who took up social reform in several sectors. “Savitribai Phule opened a school for girls and went door to door asking families to send their daughters to school. This was a rare practice as girls were not usually sent to school in the 19th century. Due to her sacrifices and relentless efforts, women are in the forefront of every sector in this country, including science research and defence,” he said.
“She fought vested interests and ensured that women get education in the 1840s. When the Phules were kicked out of their homes, another teacher Fatima Sheikh and her brother Usman Sheikh provided them a building to live and a school for girls. We should acknowledge the contribution of Fatima Sheikh too,” he said.
Caste divisions
If not for the evils of casteism, India would achieved greater heights today. Even our leaders are divided on caste lines. This is all a ploy to see that we should not be united. But we should remain united in the face of challenges. We should resist the challenge of being divided on the lines of caste, language, food habits, region, religion, colour, dress or families deities, he said. We should not be misled by the symbols used to denote culture or religion. The ideologies of Ambedkar and others should help us liberate ourselves from dogma and blind belief, he said.
In a message to his political detractors, he said he would remain a MLA till death. “But I am not attracted by the trappings of power. I want to spend my life in the service of the people. In fact, I would be able to spend more time in social service if I were not in politics,” Mr. Jarkiholi said.
Awards for teachers
He and other dignitaries gave away the Savitribai Phule Best Teacher award to school teachers.
They were Devika Nagarkar, Sharada Khanapur, Shabana Annigeri, Lalita Malagi, Kavita Kusgal, S. Sunita, Sharavva Kalloli, Shashirekha P K , Babatai Shiragavi, Venkavva Ganiger, Pushpa Kumbar, Bhuvana Hiremath, Bharati Bijapure, Lakshmi Singe, Veerashree Samaje, Shobha Gurannanavar, Kalavati Kundargi, Parvati Salimath, Devata Gasti, S B Dasog and Sunanda Madar.
State convenor Ravindra Naykar urged the Union government to declare Savitribai Phule Jayanti as a national festival.
